The Cedar & The Sea

The Cedar & The Sea is a multi-sensory exploration of Two Temple Place that uses the whole building as its backdrop: employing scent, taste, sight and sound to delve into the building’s layered histories and celebrate the craftsmanship at the heart of this stunning Neo-Gothic mansion.

This immersive installation is only available to view by guided tour, hosted by founder of AVM Curiosities’ Tasha Marks and Two Temple Place’s Head of Exhibitions Rebecca Hone. The tour begins with a bespoke cocktail inspired by William Astor - who commissioned Two Temple Place in the 1890s. After the welcome drink, which sets the foundations of the evening, visitors are led to the grand staircase to experience a soundscape by the composer Troy Hewson.

The ethereal soundscape captures some of the marine elements that ebb and flow through the building, while also referencing Astor’s journey across the pond from New York. For the musical aspect, Debussy was selected as a calling card, as impressionism in music was huge at the time of the building’s creation.

While water was a key element both inside and outside of the building, running through the interpretation are themes of adventure and anxiety. These manifest themselves most prominently in the main installation; a large-scale, scented, mixed media artwork that dominates the upstairs office. In the 1890s this imposing room was decorated with ornately carved pencil cedar wood, as the scent was supposed to promote calm. While the smell has dissipated with time, the choice of cedar wood is poignant, as it is an intimate reference to the stylistic and olfactory choices of William Astor who was an anxious and paranoid man.

The new aroma for the installation amplifies the aroma of the carved pencil cedar wood, while also referencing the sea, with an aroma chemical called Cascalone, which provided a briny-edge. The fragrance was created in collaboration with CPL Aromas and designed to complement the existing scent of the building. Projected onto this scented, hanging fabric piece was a film produced in collaboration with Sian Toogood that depicts the textures of the tides from the nearby Thames.

The Cedar & The Sea is intended as a journey - physically, sensorily and narratively.

The Cedar & The Sea
A multi-sensory exploration of Two Temple Place
Scented installation, soundscape and guided tour
In collaboration with Troy Hewson,
CPL Aromas & Sian Toogood
Two Temple Place | London
6 & 7 October 2021
8 & 9 September 2022